On walking, bicycling, and the duties we entrust to public officials

A Light Remark on a Serious Subject: On walking, bicycling, and the duties we entrust to public officials

"Courage should come from our Councilors,
not our children."  Tom Flood, Rovelo Creative

There are moments when a room grows still, not from wisdom but from the absence of it. One such moment came on April 23, during the New Hampshire House debate on SB 559, when Representative Walsh, who chairs the Transportation Committee, rose to speak. “It is against the law to run over pedestrians,” he said, “and against the law to run bicycles off the road, even though it’s sometimes very tempting.” The chamber laughed.

It is a curious thing to hear laughter where there ought to be care. SB 559 concerns the setting of speed limits on local roads—a modest, practical effort to make those roads safer for everyone, and particularly for the people who use them on foot and on bicycles. To treat that subject lightly is not merely a lapse in taste; it suggests a misunderstanding of the matter at hand.

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